[Prefrontal clinical symptoms in daily living: screening assessment by means of the short Prefrontal Symptoms Inventory (PSI-20)]. / Sintomatologia prefrontal en la vida diaria: evaluacion de cribado mediante el inventario de sintomas prefrontales abreviado (ISP-20).

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Estimation of daily symptoms of frontal dysfunction is considered to be essential in order to endow neuro-psychological assessments with ecological validity. The questionnaires available today were constructed to estimate executive problems in daily life in populations with neurological damage. There is a need for instruments focused on measuring these behaviours in the general population or in clinical populations with mild or moderate impairment. AIM: To examine the factorial validity and to find evidence of concurrent validity of the short version of the Prefrontal Symptoms Inventory. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Three samples were obtained the first, from the Internet (n = 504); the second, in a non-clinical population by means of paper and pencil (n = 1,257); and the third, from patients being treated for substance addiction (n = 602). A factorial analysis without restraints was used on the first sample and the results were submitted to confirmatory factorial analysis on the other two samples. RESULTS: The three-factor structure that was found was confirmed with excellent indicators of fit in the other two samples. Evidence of concurrent validity was found with quality of life and mental health tests. CONCLUSIONS: We propose a short questionnaire for detecting failures of a prefrontal origin in daily living, which improves on the psychometric qualities of similar tests, but is oriented towards severe neurological pathologies. The structural stability of the test ensures it can be used in the general population, for the early detection of cognitive impairment, and in clinical populations with mild or moderate deterioration. A set of criteria are proposed for use in interpreting the results.

RESUMEN

TITLE Sintomatologia prefrontal en la vida diaria evaluacion de cribado mediante el inventario de sintomas prefrontales abreviado (ISP-20).Introduccion. La estimacion de sintomas cotidianos de disfuncion frontal se considera imprescindible para aportar validez ecologica a las evaluaciones neuropsicologicas. Los cuestionarios disponibles se construyeron para estimar problemas ejecutivos en la vida diaria en poblaciones con daño neurologico. Se requieren instrumentos enfocados a medir estos comportamientos en la poblacion general o en poblaciones clinicas con fallos leves o moderados. Objetivo. Estudiar la validez factorial y encontrar indicios de validez concurrente de la version abreviada del inventario de sintomas prefrontales. Sujetos y metodos. Se obtuvieron tres muestras la primera, a traves de Internet (n = 504); la segunda, en poblacion no clinica mediante lapiz y papel (n = 1.257), y la tercera, de pacientes en tratamiento por adiccion a sustancias (n = 602). Se utilizo un metodo de analisis factorial sin restricciones sobre la primera muestra y los resultados se sometieron a analisis factorial confirmatorio sobre las otras dos muestras. Resultados. La estructura de tres factores encontrada se confirmo con excelentes indicadores de ajuste en las otras dos muestras. Se hallaron indicios de validez concurrente con pruebas de calidad de vida y salud mental. Conclusiones. Se propone un cuestionario breve para la deteccion de fallos de origen prefrontal en la vida diaria, que mejora las cualidades psicometricas de tests similares, pero orientados a patologias neurologicas graves. La estabilidad estructural de la prueba garantiza la utilidad en la poblacion general, para la deteccion precoz del deterioro cognitivo, y en poblaciones clinicas con deterioro leve o moderado. Se proponen baremos para la interpretacion de resultados.